Atlanta DL Makhi Williams-Lee flips commitment to Dabo Swinney's Clemson

Three-star defensive lineman Makhi Williams-Lee becomes Clemson football’s third commit for that position in the 2025 class. Williams-Lee's commitment is coming after his presence in Clemson’s victory over Stanford on Saturday. The No. 82 defensive lineman nationally (per 247Sports Composite) withdrew his commitment to North Carolina State in September.

Standing at 6-foot-2 and weighing 280 pounds, Williams-Lee is from Lakeside High School in Atlanta, Georgia. The high school football star announced his commitment to Dabo Swinney’s team on X (formerly Twitter).

Clemson’s 2025 recruiting class suffered a setback in September when four-star defensive lineman Isaiah Campbell withdrew his commitment from the Tigers. This came after four-star edge rusher Bryce Davis flipped from the Tigers to Duke in August.

Makhi Williams-Lee’s commitment is a needed boost for Swinney's team after the setbacks from the two four-star decommitments, becoming the 14th recruit in Clemson's 2025 class. Four-star linebacker Logan Anderson was Clemson's last commit for the class when he declared in July.

With Williams-Lee's addition, the class has nine four-star and five three-star recruits, ranking 19th nationally. He becomes Clemson's fourth 2025 recruit from Georgia and the class’ third defensive player after Amare Adams and Ari Watford.

Makhi Williams-Lee's journey to Clemson commitment

Clemson has been targeting Williams-Lee for a while. He was at Clemson for a camp in June and the Tigers extended an offer to him last week. He mentioned in an interview with On3 that the “culture” at Clemson is what he finds outstanding about the school.

Williams-Lee has been a consistent performer in his three seasons of high school football. He compiled 13 stops for loss as a sophomore. He also racked up 22 tackles for loss and 10 sacks last season. This season, he has recorded 12 tackles for loss and five sacks in six games, bringing his career total to 213 tackles.

Makhi Williams-Lee has been highly sought-after as a recruit, receiving at least 13 offers, according to 247Sports. Among others, the following schools extended an offer to him: Texas Tech, Oklahoma, Connecticut and East Carolina.

He made three important visits in June, starting with North Carolina State on Jun. 4. He was at Oklahoma and Texas Tech on Jun. 14 and 21, respectively.

The Tigers are No. 1 on ACC standing after Week 4 with a 3-1 overall record.